As New Services Track Habits, the E-Books Are Reading You

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

December 24, 2013

As New Services Track Habits, the E-Books Are Reading You

By DAVID STREITFELD

SAN FRANCISCO — Before the Internet, books were written — and published — blindly, hopefully. Sometimes they sold, usually they did not, but no one had a clue what readers did when they opened them up. Did they skip or skim? Slow down or speed up when the end was in sight? Linger over the sex scenes? A wave of start-ups is using technology to answer these questions — and help writers give readers more of what they want. The companies get reading data from subscribers who, for a flat monthly fee, buy access to an array of titles, which they can read on a variety of devices. The idea is to do for books what Netflix did for movies and Spotify for music. Read more of this post

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(Almost) No One Is Reading Your Tweets

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

(Almost) No One Is Reading Your Tweets

Published on December 23, 2013
by Peter Kafka

Do you like to post things on Twitter? That’s cool. As long you’re cool with the idea that almost no one will read what you type. That’s the gist of a reportpublished last week by Jon Bruner, a data journalist working for O’Reilly Radar. Bruner surveyed Twitter accounts and concluded that almost all of them are all but ignored: “The median Twitter account has a single follower. Among the much smaller subset of accounts that have posted in the last 30 days, the median account has just 61 followers.” Read more of this post

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Why Bitcoin Makes For A Horrible Currency In One Chart; Bitcoin: about 12x more volatile than EUR/USD

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

Why Bitcoin Makes For A Horrible Currency In One Chart

DANNY VINIK

DEC. 23, 2013, 5:36 AM 5,773 15

This comes from a new working paper by David Yermack titled “Is Bitcoin a Real Currency?” Yermack looks at the historical trading behavior of Bitcoin and compares it other currencies. What he finds is that bitcoin is incredibly volatile and its exchange rate movements have no correlation with other currencies. The virtual currency’s inherent stability makes it impossible to use it as a store of value. For this reason, Yermack concludes that bitcoin looks more like a speculative vehicle than a real currency. The following chart shows bitcoin’s volatility compared to four other fiat currencies and gold:

bitcoin volatility

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Lessons From 2013 to Cherish and Discard: Strategist Jeff Kleintop separates timeless wisdom from ideas that worked this year but are best forgotten

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2013

Lessons From 2013 to Cherish and Discard

By JEFFREY KLEINTOP | MORE ARTICLES BY AUTHOR

Strategist Jeff Kleintop separates timeless wisdom from ideas that worked this year but are best forgotten.

Each year that passes contains some wisdom for investors, but along with that wisdom can be some folly. This past year bestowed an abundance of each on investors. The top 10 lessons of 2013 for investors need to be put into two categories: those that investors can take to heart as sound wisdom for the year to come, and those they should try to forget as they prepare for 2014. Lessons investors can take to heart for 2014: Read more of this post

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Even if Bitcoin fails, cryptocurrencies are here to stay

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

Even if Bitcoin fails, cryptocurrencies are here to stay

John Greenwood | December 20, 2013 8:00 PM ET
Is paper money headed for obsolescence, swept aside by the meteoric rise of Bitcoin? Is the controversial cryptocurrency the harbinger of a golden age of e-commerce, where all transactions are electronic, frictionless and not under the control of central banks? It’s not hard to come to that conclusion given some of the recent hype. Read more of this post

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Capitalism: In search of balance; While the income gap in industrialised societies grows inexorably wider, global inequality is shrinking

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

December 23, 2013 8:25 pm

Capitalism: In search of balance

By John Gapper

While the income gap in industrialised societies grows inexorably wider, global inequality is shrinking

When Pope Francis issued his first apostolic exhortation in November, he took aim at modern capitalism for encouraging “idolatry of money” and growing inequality in the world. “While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by the happy few. This imbalance is the result of ideologies which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation,” the Pope wrote in Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). Read more of this post

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Apple deal shows power is shifting East; It has been clear that Apple needed China Mobile more than the other way around

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

Apple deal shows power is shifting East

It has been clear that Apple needed China Mobile more than the other way around

By Telegraph staff

5:37PM GMT 23 Dec 2013

After a year which, if not exactly an annus horribilis, has certainly presented its first share of challenges, Christmas came a few days early for Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive. The iPhone distribution deal he has signed with China Mobile should spur yet another growth spurt for the world’s most valuable technology company. Read more of this post

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Activist hedge fund managers get board welcome

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

December 23, 2013 1:11 pm

Activist hedge fund managers get board welcome

By Stephen Foley in New York

Activist hedge fund managers are sitting on a record amount of money to deploy against underperforming companies. They are targeting larger businesses than ever before, and they have never had so much success in securing what they want. But if this year marks the triumph of activism, what do the activists do next? Read more of this post

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A Turning Point for Multinational Stocks; According to new research, overseas exposure should soon be less of a drag– and perhaps a boost

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2013

A Turning Point for Multinational Stocks

By JACK HOUGH | MORE ARTICLES BY AUTHOR

According to new research, overseas exposure should soon be less of a drag– and perhaps a boost.

A new statistical indicator suggests U.S. stock-buyers should favor companies with high foreign sales. For a given group of stocks, the revision ratio is the number of issues with recently raised earnings estimates divided by the number with reduced estimates. It offers an early look at whether business conditions are broadly expected to improve. Among companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, those with high foreign sales exposure have long had worse revision ratios than pure domestics, but that’s changing. Read more of this post

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Raising Children With an Attitude of Gratitude; Research Finds Real Benefits for Kids Who Say ‘Thank You’

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

Raising Children With an Attitude of Gratitude
Research Finds Real Benefits for Kids Who Say ‘Thank You’
DIANA KAPP
Dec. 23, 2013 6:40 p.m. ET

Ben Gantert, 12, center, washes dishes near his father, Kurt Gantert, left, sister Amelie Gantert, 9, near right, and mother Gabrielle Toledano in San Francisco. The family assigns each child chores and makes sure to thank whoever cooks dinner. Laura Morton for The Wall Street Journal

At the Branstens’ modern white dining table, the family holds hands for their nightly ritual.

Arielle, 8 years old, says she’s thankful for her late grandfather, Horace, and how funny he was. “I’m missing him,” she says. Her third-grade pal, over for dinner, chimes in, “I’m grateful for the sausages.” Leela, who works for an education nonprofit, and her attorney husband Peter, burst into smiles. The San Francisco couple couldn’t have scripted this better. Appreciation for things big and small—that’s why they do this. Read more of this post

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PBOC’s Opacity Leaves Markets Guessing Amid Cash Crunch

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

PBOC’s Opacity Leaves Markets Guessing Amid Cash Crunch

China’s second cash crunch this year is revealing some of the risks behind pledges by the nation’s leaders to elevate the role of markets, in a country where policy makers are unaccustomed to detailing their intentions. The central bank, which unlike counterparts in the U.S., Europe and Japan doesn’t schedule decisions on its main policy tool, saw the seven-day interbank repurchase rate rise for a seventh straight session yesterday even after it released more than $49 billion to selected lenders. The People’s Bank of China is “confused” on whether to target the volume of liquidity or influence the price of credit, Bank of America Corp. says. Read more of this post

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China Protester Risks Riches Joining Street Fight for Justice

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

China Protester Risks Riches Joining Street Fight for Justice

After leaving a downtown park in southern China where they held banners protesting nuclear tests by China-ally North Korea, Wang Aizhong says he and about a dozen others were tailed to a restaurant by Guangzhou police. As food began to arrive, the cops stormed their private room and ordered the diners to squat. Wang, 37, says he slammed his hands on the table and shouted: “Why?” Read more of this post

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Starbucks to Audi Face China Clampdown on Foreign Firms

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

Starbucks to Audi Face China Clampdown on Foreign Firms

As Chinese President Xi Jinping promises the nation’s biggest market opening in two decades, the reality for some of the most successful foreign companies in the country is a raft of probes and laws that curb their operations. This month, after China’s ruling Communist Party promised to make markets “decisive” in shaping the world’s second-largest economy, carmakers Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (7270)’s Subaru division and Audi AG became the latest targets when state media accused them of charging “unfair” prices for spare parts. Read more of this post

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Glenmark Goes West for $250 Billion Drugs Opportunity; “The hope is to be the first innovative pharma company coming out of India.”

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

Glenmark Goes West for $250 Billion Drugs Opportunity

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (GNP), the Indian company that’s reaped more than $200 million selling rights to its drugs, is seeking to introduce its first biotechnology medicine in the U.S. or Europe as early as 2017. A biologic remedy for ulcerative colitis, a bowel disorder affecting 1.5 million patients globally, is progressing through U.S. trials after being licensed to Paris-based Sanofi and may come to market from 2017 to 2020, according to Glenmark’s Managing Director Glenn Saldanha. Talks with possible licensees for biologic pain and inflammation drugs have begun, he said. Read more of this post

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Picturing Apple’s Biggest Failures

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

Picturing Apple’s Biggest Failures

Tyler Durden on 12/24/2013 16:43 -0500

We all know Apple’s greatest hits, but which products and services would Apple’s leaders rather forget?

AppleFailures-1

 

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In telecom merger mania, skeptical eye from Obama administration

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

In telecom merger mania, skeptical eye from Obama administration

1:42pm EST

By Alina Selyukh and Sinead Carew

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – A pair of potentially transformative U.S. telecoms and cable deals could run afoul of Obama administration regulators who worry that mergers among market leaders would hurt consumers. Read more of this post

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The Joy of Pain: Schadenfreude and the Dark Side of Human Nature

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

The Joy of Pain: Schadenfreude and the Dark Side of Human Nature [Hardcover]

Richard H. Smith (Author)

Book Description

The Joy of Pain, Schadenfreude and the Dark Side of Human Nature

Publication Date: July 31, 2013 | ISBN-10: 0199734542 | ISBN-13: 978-0199734542 | Edition: 1

Few people will easily admit to taking pleasure in the misfortunes of others. But who doesn’t enjoy it when an arrogant but untalented contestant is humiliated on American Idol, or when the embarrassing vice of a self-righteous politician is exposed, or even when an envied friend suffers a small setback? The truth is that joy in someone else’s pain-known by the German word schadenfreude–permeates our society. Read more of this post

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34-Year-Old Mindy Kaling Has A Hilarious But Totally Honest Explanation For All Her Early Success

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

34-Year-Old Mindy Kaling Has A Hilarious But Totally Honest Explanation For All Her Early Success

NICHOLAS CARLSON

DEC. 23, 2013, 4:03 PM 20,850 9

Mindy Kaling was hired as a writer on “The Office” when she was 24 years old. Nine years later, she’s now writing, producing, and starring in a sitcom on Fox, “The Mindy Project.”  She’s also written a couple books. Kaling is a very funny, very successful person at a very young age. How’d she do it? What advice could she give to aspiring filmmakers, writers, actors, and comedians who want to be like her? Back in March of this year, a USC film student asked Kaling during a panel at the 2013 PaleyFest. Kaling’s answer was classic her: hilarious, honest, and dead on. The student said: “I was wondering if you had any words of advice to [explain] how to make it, because you’re awesome.” HuluKaling answered: “Thank you. I never partied or had boyfriends.” Read more of this post

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The Dictator’s Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

The Dictator’s Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy Paperback

by William J. Dobson  (Author)

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In this riveting anatomy of authoritarianism, acclaimed journalist William Dobson takes us inside the battle between dictators and those who would challenge their rule. Recent history has seen an incredible moment in the war between dictators and democracy—with waves of protests sweeping Syria and Yemen, and despots falling in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya. But the Arab Spring is only the latest front in a global battle between freedom and repression, a battle that, until recently, dictators have been winning hands-down. The problem is that today’s authoritarians are not like the frozen-in-time, ready-to-crack regimes of Burma and North Korea. They are ever-morphing, technologically savvy, and internationally connected, and have replaced more brutal forms of intimidation with subtle coercion. The Dictator’s Learning Curve explains this historic moment and provides crucial insight into the fight for democracy.

Read more of this post

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Financial Scammers Increasingly Target Elderly Americans; One in Every Five Americans 65 or Older Has Been Abused Financially

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

Financial Scammers Increasingly Target Elderly Americans

One in Every Five Americans 65 or Older Has Been Abused Financially

E.S. BROWNING

Dec. 23, 2013 3:20 p.m. ET

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Minnesota State Rep. Joe Atkins spoke at a senior-citizen community last year and asked how many had recently been targeted by scammers. “Every single hand in the room went up, 75 for 75,” Rep. Atkins says. “Every single resident had gotten that same call.” always missed call.. Four told him they had sent money and were ashamed. Read more of this post

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The Goals of Traders and Investors Are Light-Years Apart

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

December 23, 2013

The Goals of Traders and Investors Are Light-Years Apart

By CARL RICHARDS

Last week, I came across a story involving Wall Street, helicopters and the business of collecting and selling private data. It sounds like the perfect setup for an article in The Onion, but it’s true and a perfect example of Wall Street’s obsession with the speed of information. Read more of this post

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Christmas Gift-Giving Has a Value Beyond Economics

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

The Greatest Gift of All (Economically Speaking)

In January 1993, Joel Waldfogel asked 86 undergraduate students whether they liked their Christmas gifts. But Waldfogel is an economist, so he phrased the question more precisely, asking them how much they would’ve paid to buy those items for themselves. Read more of this post

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Mikhail Kalashnikov, Whose AK-47 Fuels War Worldwide, Dies at 94

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

Designer of the Popular Kalashnikov Rifle Dies

AK-47, Created by Mikhail Kalashnikov, Was Designed to ‘Protect the Motherland’ After World War II

LUKAS I. ALPERT And STEPHEN MILLER

Updated Dec. 23, 2013 4:48 p.m. ET

BN-AW453_1223Ka_G_20131223122831

Mikhail Kalashnikov shows a model of his world-famous AK-47 assault rifle at home in the Ural Mountain city of Izhevsk, Russia on Oct. 29, 1997. Associated Press

Acclaimed a hero in the Soviet Union for creating the most popular assault rifle in history, Mikhail Kalashnikov was the namesake of the AK-47. Mr. Kalashnikov died in Izhevsk on Monday at age 94, after a long illness, said Yelena Filatova, a spokeswoman for the gun’s manufacturer, Kalashnikov Concern. She didn’t give further details. Read more of this post

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Australia Orders Banks to Raise Capital

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

Australia Orders Banks to Raise Capital

ROSS KELLY

Updated Dec. 23, 2013 9:43 p.m. ET

SYDNEY—Australia’s banking regulator ordered the nation’s largest lenders to deepen capital reserves to protect themselves against economic shocks, tying up funds that might otherwise have been used to fatten dividend payments. Read more of this post

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Do Investors Recognise the Conflicts and Incentives in IPOs?

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

Do Investors Recognise the Conflicts and Incentives in IPOs?

valuewalk.com/2013/12/investors-recognise-conflicts-incentives-ipos/

CFA Institute Contributors

Do Investors Recognise the Conflicts and Incentives in IPOs? by Colin McLeanThe process for initial public offerings (IPOs) is one of the most opaque areas of the market and is ripe for reform. The current IPO boom mirrors the excesses of the tech bubble a decade ago. That bubble resulted in fines and new rules, but it’s still not fixed. Read more of this post

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Some inspiring CEOs who made the pages of MetroBiz this year

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

Updated: Tuesday December 24, 2013 MYT 8:27:22 AM

Some inspiring CEOs who made the pages of MetroBiz this year

BY KARINA FOO, NEVASH NAIR, S. PUSPADEVI, AND JOY LEE

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When the going gets tough, the tough get going. And entrepreneurs are a group of people who understand what it means to rise to the occasion in times of challenges. In the past year, Metrobiz has met a number of entrepreneurs who had built businesses from scratch and endeavour to be successful despite facing multiple challenges. Most say it is worth it to follow their passion even when the odds are against them. While some were successful in their first attempt, others had to pick themselves up, dust off the failure and start again. Here are some whose stories stood out and spoke of hard work and perseverance. Read more of this post

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How to eulogise the dead and departing

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

Last updated: December 23, 2013 11:18 pm

How to eulogise the dead and departing

By Sam Leith

There is a lot of talk at funerals: the funerals of politicians especially; the funerals of revered elder statesmen supremely. Nelson Mandela’s burial at Qunu was a case in point. Xhosa tradition says that burial should take place at midday, when the sun is at its highest and shadows at their shortest. Mandela was buried 40 minutes late because the speeches over-ran. Read more of this post

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Are Cranberries a Better Way to Long Life? Berries’ Antioxidant Properties May Increase Longevity at Any Stage of Life

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

Are Cranberries a Better Way to Long Life?

Berries’ Antioxidant Properties May Increase Longevity at Any Stage of Life

ANN LUKITS

Updated Dec. 23, 2013 6:36 p.m. ET

PJ-BS264_RESREP_G_20131223165227

Cranberries have antioxidant properties that can prolong life when taken at any stage of life, suggests a study to be published in the February 2014 issue of Experimental Gerontology. Studies of antiaging compounds have shown that some are effective at certain stages of life but can be harmful in others, researchers said. Read more of this post

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For That Zeus Bug in Your Life; The drive to exchange presents is ancient, transcultural and by no means limited to Homo sapiens

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

December 23, 2013

For That Zeus Bug in Your Life

By NATALIE ANGIER

Here are some last-minute gift ideas to suit even the most discriminating individuals on your list. For the female scorpionfly: an extremely large, glittering, nutrient-laced ball of spit, equivalent to 5 percent to 10 percent of a male fly’s body mass. Gentlemen: Too worn down by the holidays to cough up such an expensive package? Try giving her a dead insect instead. You can always steal it back later. Read more of this post

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The Gospel According to Mary: What we can learn from early Christian texts that are not in the New Testament

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

December 23, 2013

The Gospel According to Mary

By JOE NOCERA

One Sunday morning a few weeks ago, Hal Taussig, the co-pastor of the Chestnut Hill United Church in Philadelphia, chose one of his favorite bits of scripture to build his sermon upon. It’s called The Thanksgiving Prayer, and the portion of it that Taussig chose goes like this:

“O light of life we have known you/

O womb of all that grows we have known you/

O womb pregnant with the nature of the Father we have known you/

O never-ending endurance of the Father who gives birth, so we worship your goodness.”

If you are thinking that you’ve never come across such a prayer in the New Testament, you’re right, of course. The prayer was part of a treasure trove of early Christian documents, written in Coptic, discovered in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945. The Nag Hammadi find was, in turn, among the 75-plus early Christian documents that have been unearthed over the last century and a half. Collectively, these works were once known as The Gnostic Gospels, and they were viewed by many theologians as the work of early Christian heretics, as their interpretation of the life of Jesus was often quite different than the one recounted in the four gospels of the New Testament. Read more of this post

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